I've had a little fender bender today, but with a very nice individual! A Ph.D., ironically a professor of criminal justice. (The pic is at the bottom.)

Now the question is, what should I do?

The dent in the door I think I can straighten out myself, it’s bent in maybe 2/16", very nice and round. Looks much worse than it really is. Even cleaning off the paint would make it pretty much unnoticeable.

The bottom part of the fender on the other hand is bent in pretty nicely. I might be able to hammer it out if taken off, but wont be perfect. The running board is obviously gone.

Now, I'm assuming they will get me a check for whatever amount the estimator seems appropriate (what is approximately appropriate here anyway?) Then...

a.) Take it to body shop and return to like before condition
b.) Take it to body shop repair door and fender, get sliders/nerf bars
c.) Take it to body shop repair fender, do door myself, get sliders/nerf bars
d.) Bang out the dents myself and get sliders/nerf bars (If I get Limited flairs think they will hide the imperfection at the bottom of fender?)

The Carnage.

 

who is at fault for the accident?

 

He is of course, admitted it was his fault, said he's sorry for the headache, etc... As expected from such an individual.

 

thats great! my poor friend got her saab 93 convertable hit by a b*tchy soccer mom's infiniti QX4... blatantly her fault, but she tried to tell the cops it was my friend's fault.

the cops didnt believe the QX4 lady.

 

ouch, thats no fun man... i think you should try to do as much work as you can, get some sliders, and then take it to a body shop and tell them what to do. dont let them tell you what they think you should do, or else you will get a 4,000 bill. they will make up stupid things like bent sub frame and airbag sensor replacment and realignment...

 

haha... the 4 runner doenst even have a subframe, isnt it a body on frame truck?

 

that was part of the joke against body shops.....

 

96LtdYota, do your Limited flares cover the spot in my pic that's bent?

http://www.top4runners.com/ja/cgi-bi...are_wotrim.jpg

Are these OEM also?

 

Take the money insurance company cut you and get it fixed at a reputable, insurance company approved, body shop. Whatever the amount they cut you, you will not be able to fix it at a body shop without the backing of the insurance company. The insurance company gets a "discount" from the body shop that will not extend to you as an individual. Comapare both estimates between a repair order from an insurance company and a repair order as an individual, and you are likely to see a difference up to 30%. In addition, you will receive rental reimbursements (even if you drive your other vehicles during the duration of the repair) and a check for the depreciation of your wrecked vehicle. I know this because my wife back her brand new Camry into my '97 Nissan few months ago. I got an estimate from two local Toyota dealerships- one with insurance authorization and one as an individual, and the difference was almost $900 ($3,800 vs $2,900).

That's just my experience and opinion.

 

i believe they will:

 

Take it to the shop and get the work done.

Maybe they could give you credit for the running boards, but have them fix the door.

Remember, when you get a dent, the metal stretches so just hammering it out will not work as well as anticipated. You will need a body hammer and dolly to get it close to the same shape, then it may be straight enough to put the body filler in.

 

Get the money from the estimate to fix it all, get the check, get the fender and door fixed professionally, unless you can paint yourself, then DIY, and use the money from the running boards, flares to get some sliders and some bushwackers.

 

The damage doesn't look bad, first of all. So if you can straighten out the bottom of your fender, and there is not other damage that can cause rust, just put the flares over it. It will cover it up, so why spend money on something that's going to be covered. If the door doesn't come out ok, I say get it repaired because you can see it. Pocket as much money as you can to pay for your sliders/nerf bars.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...spagename=WD1V

Xenon flares about equal to Bushwackers fit and quality wise? I'm eyeing the possibilities already Emailed the guy on ebay, and he says they come in flat black by default.

 

That's right WW, I would do the same thing!

 

I second what WW said. The body shop will most likely get a used fender and repaint it. It is easier to do that than cut, weld, grind, bondo, sand, etc. because they will have to repaint it anyway. Thats in a bad spot because you'll be able to see it (even with flares), and it will rust. The door will be easy. Did the running boards bend any of their attachment points to the body?

 

The board can even be repaired. Only one of the brackets and the plastic piece is messed up. Dodge dealership put down $114 for that part. Dodge overall gave me an estimate of $1100, they are the only one who want to straighten out the fender.

Toyota dealer said $1400, and a Ford dealer said $1500, both with fender replacement.

3 question:
a.) Why would it rust if I sand it down nicely, its summer now, spray it with something heavy duty and cover them up with wide bushwhackers?
b.) My estimates say: Customer Pay $0.00 Insurance Pay $xxxx.xxx. Does this mean the quotes are insurance rates not personal?
c.) Anyone well versed in depreciation that Supercharged has mentioned? Is this appropriate in purely superficial damage?

 

Like others said: Get it fixed (unless you are really good at fixing dents or don't mind living with how it looks if you are not). Hiding something is never great IMO